


TEAMWORK OR CO-DEPENDENCE?

by Krafter2014



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Not Sam Wilson Friendly, Not Steve Friendly, Post Thanos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 06:08:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15164327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krafter2014/pseuds/Krafter2014
Summary: Was Sam Wilson meeting Steve Rogers really a benefit to either of them or the Avengers? Christine Everhart investigates!





	TEAMWORK OR CO-DEPENDENCE?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AnonEhouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonEhouse/gifts), [DaughteroftheSilverMoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaughteroftheSilverMoon/gifts), [Suncat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suncat/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Siberian Variations](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12712254) by [AnonEhouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonEhouse/pseuds/AnonEhouse). 



> Another story inspired by a comment thread from Siberian Variations by AnonEhouse. I blame AnonEhouse, DaughteroftheSilverMoon, and Suncat for the interesting discussion attracting a plot bunny. I like the actors, dislike the MCU Falcon and hate the MCU Captain America, be warned.

James (Rhodey) Rhodes was reading the morning news on his StarkTab with breakfast when he suddenly inhaled the coffee he was drinking and dropped his very large mug. The subsequent coughing and choking were very distracting as was the mess occurring as hot coffee went everywhere. The friends eating breakfast with him considered him family and the only reason they didn't react with panic was the experience with emergencies they'd all had. After the fuss and bother of getting Rhodey breathing easily again and cleaning up finished , everyone was terribly curious.

"Rhodey, what's did you read that made you almost choke to death?" Pepper inquired, "you usually don't react so violently to the news."

"Yeah, platypus, I have a heart condition, you shouldn't stress it like that." Tony was looking at Rhodey with a concern belayed by the accusatory tone of his voice.

Vision and Peter Parker (having just finished an all-nighter SCIENCE investigation of Vision's powers with Tony and Rhodey) were also looking concerned.

"Read this and understand." Rhodey's voice still sounded choked, but this time with amusement as he pulled up on the big monitor the story he was reading.

******************************  
TEAMWORK OR CO-DEPENDENCE?  
An Expose' by Christine Everhart  
Now that Thanos has been defeated and all those lost have returned, we can revisit some old history. I am sure my readers all remember Captain America's speech, about how the Avengers' (minus Tony Stark) hands were/are the best, when he was interviewed after the episode called the Avengers' Civil War. Steve Rogers was adamant that his then teammates (list provided tomorrow at the end of this article) were/are the best of the best and did not need any supervision or accountability other than what was provided internally (and he expressly excluded Tony Stark in that even though Dr. Stark provided the team's entire financial support, would any of my readers be willing to just gift millions to a team/anyone and not have any say in how that money was used?). 

Rogers was especially complementary of Samuel Wilson, the Falcon, as an expert in "helping us out with the stress of our jobs" because of his "work at the VA (Veteran's Administration) and his time as a pararescue in the Air Force". I became curious about Mr. Wilson's military history and qualifications for counseling a team of superheroes considering how he reacted in the Civil War. Today, I will review what I've found out about Sam Wilson up to and immediately after the Sokovia incident and I will follow up tomorrow with his history after that.

Wilson joined the Air Force with his friend, David Riley, and they remained in the same cohort through basic and advanced training until picked together for the experimental pararescue unit to use the Falcon wings (developed by Stark Industries). Pararescue training then included extensive, advanced first aide for physical wounds with minimal attention to the psychological side focused on de-escalating aggressive behavior and convincing victims to accept help. Psychological training has gained in priority since then. According to official and eye witnesses' reports, Wilson and Riley were the most effective team in the unit until the mission on which Riley was shot down/killed in front of Wilson's eyes. This was the end of Wilson's military career. From post-mission reports and evaluations released during the legal investigations of the Civil War, Sam Wilson had a mental breakdown and was unable to function without Riley. When I interviewed some of Wilson's former unit members, I heard "Dude couldn't function with Riley. No, there weren't any funny business going on, they were just tight", "Talk about co-dependent. Riley was OK, I guess, but you didn't see him without Wilson around." and "The brass let it go in pararescue because they were so good at what they did. They really should have been separated in basic to prevent what happened, but hindsight's always perfect, isn't it?" Wilson was given a medical discharge although he never explained this when he spoke about "leaving the active service to help my fellow vets". Some medical personnel I've interviewed are suspicious he may have had undiagnosed physical damage as well as the obvious mental trauma. "It wouldn't be unexpected for pararescue flyers using the type of gear they did to have repeated 'minor' concussions and head injuries from the G-forces involved in using those wings." respected neurosurgeon and superhero Dr. Stephen Strange explains.

After his discharge, Wilson lived on a small disability check, his savings and the money David Riley left him. Wilson was a volunteer moderator for several unofficial veterans' support groups meeting at the VA. He had no official position in the VA organization, nor any training other than a class on being a group moderator. 

Rogers and Wilson met while both were running around the Mall in Washington, DC. They introduced themselves during these exercise runs. During the SHIELD data dump episode, Rogers and Natasha Romanov showed up at Wilson's doorstep with the reported comments of "We have no place to go." and "Everyone is trying to kill us." They seemingly ignored that Tony Stark was a teammate, available, targeted by HYDRA, and a technological genius who, if he wanted to kill them, they would have been long dead. Without Stark's assistance, the trio "had no other option for destroying HYDRA" but to release all of SHIELD's files (which included information on every spy organization in the world) in the most damaging data dump the espionage business has ever experienced. The result was an immense number of failed missions and the injury/death of innumerable exposed agents, non-agent employees, witnesses, and innocent family members. Not one of the three involved have ever apologized, admitted they could have chosen better, or even acknowledged the damage they did without even stopping HYDRA (as was revealed during the Sokovia incident). I am sure my readers also remember Romanov's response to the US Congress when asked to explain herself, but at least she showed up. Wilson and Rogers were unavailable to be questioned. The US government has never explained why the three of them were not accused and tried for treason, nor why no other government attempted a lawsuit against them.

After the SHIELD data dump, Wilson is found staying with Rogers in the (then named) Avengers Tower. Financial records show no Avenger paid rent or utilities while living there (one of the most expensive and valuable pieces of real estate in New York). I interviewed employees working at the Tower while the Avengers resided there and was told that "None of them ever said a 'please' or a 'thank you' to Dr. Stark when they demanded something from him. I wouldn't let my toddler act like they did.", "They just ignored us (the housekeeping staff) unless something wasn't done to their standards, then they reported us. You'd have thought someone like Captain America or the Falcon would be more considerate, but they were nothing like their reputations in private.", "Selfish, the lot of them. It was always (high pitched voice) 'We want. We need. You (to Dr. Stark) have to get/make/give us…..', and 'I deserve….' from those a……s", "Wilson would just watch as they browbeat Dr. Stark every time they saw him, they only wanted him to work on their stuff. Wilson would say he never worked a day in his life like all the other rich guys. Wilson and the others would be lazing around watching movies while blaming Dr. Stark for not doing enough for them. Freeloaders is what they all were.". Another employee said "They never cleaned up after themselves, and I'm including Wilson who should have known better, he was in the military. They didn't even clean up a little when Dr. Stark moved them to their own compound. I found food left in the frig's, lots of trash on the floors, and it wasn't just one of them, it was something in every apartment."

Employees at the Avengers Compound have said "You never saw Rogers without Wilson tagging along when they were here. It was like they were joined at the hip.", "Wilson never disagreed with Rogers. We all thought it was disgusting.", "They went on more trips than I could count, all Rogers had to say was 'Let's go' and Wilson was packing. I almost thought something else was going on, but Romanov and Barton were almost as bad and she, at least, went along on most of the trips." Recent evidence has surfaced that those trips were attempts to find and retrieve the legendary assassin called the Winter Soldier, now known to have been killing, first Russia's then HYDRA's enemies, for decades. The Winter Soldier was also Rogers' former and current best friend Sergeant James (Bucky) Barnes and a link to his past. Wilson apparently supported Rogers in his quest, even with the number of deaths attributed to the Winter Soldier because Wilson was more concerned with Rogers' needs than justice for the assassin's victims and their families. It is impossible to discover how much of the money Dr. Stark provided for the Avengers (thinking it would be used to protect the world/innocent people) was wasted on these "missions" as Rogers called them. Wilson has said he was not aware that the Winter Soldier assassinated Dr. Stark's parents, Howard and Maria, and that Rogers knew this. While Wilson does say he would have objected to using Dr. Stark's financial support to search for the man who killed his parents if he had known, many who know him don't agree as Wilson had never disagreed with Rogers about anything before. 

The Sokovia Incident has been thoroughly investigated and I will not review it. However, one seldom discussed episode of violence occurring within the team showcases how Wilson supported Rogers above all others. Wilson has admitted he never reproached Rogers for attacking Dr. Stark (on the word of a terrorist) when that might have mortally injured Rogers' teammate. (Links to video evidence of this attack and other episodes referred in this article will be included at the conclusion tomorrow.) Wilson accepted any violence committed by Rogers with any (flimsy) excuse Rogers made.

What happened after the Incident is of interest when discussing Sam Wilson's behavior. Even though Dr. Stark was cleared of any blame in the creation of the robot killer Ultron and the Avengers including Wilson were well aware of this, Wilson joined Rogers and the remaining Avengers as they accepted Wanda Maximoff into the team and pushed Dr. Stark out. Wanda Maximoff (code named the Scarlet Witch) and her brother Pietro (code named Quicksilver), as my readers well know, were HYDRA volunteers, guilty of many, many crimes committed with powers received from and practiced under that terrorist organization. Pietro died during the Incident and the assumption had been that the Witch used her power of mind manipulation to make the Avengers feel guilty and accept/protect her. While partially true, this assumption was proved mainly incorrect after Rogers was recently interrogated and revealed he, at least, had an ulterior motive for putting her on the team and pushing Dr. Stark out. Rogers explained that he had talked to Wilson about saving Barnes from punishment for the crimes he had committed while brainwashed and something Wilson said gave Rogers the idea to use the Scarlet Witch as an example of a redeemed HYDRA assassin to pave the way for Barnes' return. Rogers says Wilson was "fully on board with the plan". Wilson apparently ignored the effect of Maximoff's presence on the team with Dr. Bruce Banner (the Hulk) disappearing, Clint Barton (Hawkeye) retiring, and Dr. Stark leaving the team (even if he was still providing financial support). Both Rogers and Wilson were heard by Compound employees to say they did not believe Dr. Stark wasn't totally to blame for Ultron, ignoring Dr. Banner's admitted assistance and Thor's contribution, discovered when video records were reviewed during the investigation (but who would want to aggravate the Hulk or Thor by that accusation?) and shielding Maximoff from her guilt.

Tomorrow, I will review the Lagos Incident, the Accords and how Wilson reacted. I will continue up to the present and allow my readers to decide themselves about how Sam Wilson's qualifications, skills, and actions assisted the Avengers in their announced mission.

******************************  
"I started choking at the co-dependent remark. Shows how well Rogers picked his people doesn't it?" Rhodey was sardonic.

"Christine at least implied that I was in the right. Can we send her some flowers, Pep?" Tony had his patented 'puppy dog eyes' aimed at Pepper.

"Wow, I both can and can't believe it!" Peter's own eyes were very big as he finished the article.

"I can believe it and, yes, we will be sending Christine flowers. This is even more effective since Christine never sugar-coats any story involving you." Pepper was brisk as she got ready to leave for her office.

Vision was thoughtful, "I believe I shall find and read the rest of Ms. Everhart's work. She is a skillful writer."

Rhodey suddenly chuckled, "I want to see Rogers' face when he reads this."

"Do you really think he's reading any news?" Peter asked, "He never seemed to before."

"They learned their lesson, I think, and even if not, you know Lang will point it out. After finding out how much he was misled by them, he's taking every opportunity to rub their faces in their bad PR." Rhodey laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> The story ends here, for now. I'm marking it complete since I don't know if I will ever write the rest of Christine's article, but if I do, it will be after IW2 (whatever it's named) comes out.


End file.
